“I think you're both kind of right. He is a test subject in a program that is testing a brainwashing technique. His mental state is compromised by the drugs and therapy thay have given him. That's probably where you got the schitzophrenia. But he is also a witness to something that our government did, and they are trying to cover it up by erasing his memories. (The book was written in 1977 when there was a lot of paranoia about Russia using brainwashing, etc.) The way I interpreted the end was that the tests didn't work, and they are requesting permission to "terminate" him. Some of my classmates insisted that they had decided to let him go. (I think maybe I am a realist, while thay are escapists. Of course they think I am a cynic, while they are optimists.)I read this for the first time back in Jr. High. And in the last 10 years I have asked many people if they ever read it, and what they remember from it. All of them can recall one or two scenes that struck them. One guy remembered the kiss. Another remembered the bike being stolen. But none of them could recall anything disturbing about the ending. Out of a dozen people I asked, only one thought there was any twist at the end. They all thought that he got home safely. But I had the same reaction as you. Total shocker.I guess even fairly intelligent adults tend to see only what they want to see! :)”
“I read this book for a reading club and was blown away by the end. It was the same kind of reaction that I had from watching the movie The Sixth Sense. Well, no one in my book group saw it the same way as me. Can I give a spoiler on this post? Here goes: I thought that the boy turned out to be schitzophrenic but the rest of the group said no, that he really was in the witness protection program. Am I wrong? If so, I'm re-reading it. By the way, we're not kids, we're all fairly intelligent adults.”
